632 MR. W. T. BLANFORD ON THE [DeC. 6, 



Anderson in rejecting the name griseus, not, however, merely because 

 it included an African species, which might not under all circum- 

 stances have been a sufficient reason, but because it was, I think, 

 proposed for an African species, and not for the Indian Mungoose at 

 all. 



In a note to his paper on the Mammals of Mr. Hume's collection 

 (P. Z.S. 1886, p. 56, note), Mr. Oldfield Thomas gives reasons for 

 coming to conclusions opposed to my own. He identifies the 

 Indian Mungoose with Ichneumon griseus of Geoffroy, and rejects 

 Gmelin's specific name, which, as I will sliow presently, appears to 

 me applicable. To explain these views some details are necessary. 



The original description of Ichneumon griseus by Geoffroy St.- 

 Hilaire occurs in the Natural History of the ' Description Generale 

 de I'Egypte,' vol. ii. pp. 138, 139, and runs thus ' : — 



" Une autre espece, egalement des Indes Orientales, est la man- 

 gouste nems de Buffon, Supp. iii. pi. 27. EUe est d'un cinquieme 

 plus grande que I'espece a bandes ^, sa queue se termine de meme 

 en pointe, son pelage est plus claire, d'uiie couleur uniforme, tant 

 sur le dos que surles patles, ses petits traits d'un brun roussatre 

 dissemines egalement, et dont il y a autant que de polls, font voir en 

 gris-roux la teinte totale qui est, au fond, jaune couleur de paille. 

 Daubenton a connu cette maugouste et I'a decrite dans la premiere 

 partie de sou article H. N. G. tome siii." 



This description will apply equally w^ell to several distinct kinds 

 of Herpestes. It will be seen that the species is founded on the 

 Mangouste nems of BufFon. Now this is distinctly said by Buffon to 

 be from Africa. As the term East Indies (hides Orientales) was 

 until recently very vaguely used and included all countries east of 

 the Cape of Good Hope, East Africa may have been the locality 

 meant by Geoffroy. There is nothing, so far as I can see, in the 

 description to distinguish either the nems or Geoffrey's Ichneumon 

 griseus from a young Herpestes galera or possibly //. pulverulentus. 

 Mr. O. Thomas, in bis paper on the African Mongooses (P. Z. S. 

 1882, p. 72), refers Viverra nems, Kerr (An. Kingdom, p. 160), to 

 H. galera. Now Kerr's name was clearly founded upon Buffun's 

 description, the characters assigned being abridged from Buffon's 

 account ; and if Viverra nems, Kerr, be the same as Herpestes 

 galera, so is Ichneumon griseus, Geoffroy. Moreover, as the two 

 names were founded on the same description, the oldest name has 

 under any circumstances priority over griseus, which must therefore 

 be relegated to the list of synonyms, whatever be the species to 

 which it ought to belong. 



But there is another and more important fact to be considered. 

 The paper by Geoffroy on the Egyptian Ichneumon, from which the 

 description of /. griseus has just been quoted, contains a list with 

 notes of the species known to the author. The first of these is the 

 " mangouste de VInde ou la manguuste a bandes," of which it is 

 remarked, " EUe porte aux Indes le nom de Mungo ou de Mungutia, 



' T give the extract in full, ns the work is rare. 



^ The head and body of wliidi are said to be 25 eenliinetres long. 



